Thought processes and conversations started under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Someday everyone will know the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida, not TAMPA, or the fictitious city of TAMPA BAY.

World Series Tidbits……….The Weds. Edition

FREE TACO PROMOTION

Everyone in America must send a Thank You note to the Tampa Bay Rays’ shortstop Jason Bartlett for stealing second base in the 5th inning of Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. As you might know. If a player steals a base during any of the 2008 World Series Games, the public can steal a taco on Taco Bell. Well, in the first game tonight, America can get it’s Mexican food fix in a few days. Read below for the time and date you can go to your local Taco Bell location and get your freebie.

As you might know by now, everyone in America will get a FREE Taco Bell Crunchy Spicy Beef Taco on Tuesday October 28th, between the hours of 2-6 p.m.

Here is how to obtain your FREE Taco.

If an eligible base was stolen during the Games, Taco Bell will make an announcement through selected media channels, including a press release and its web site (www.tacobell.com), that eligible consumers can obtain their free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (if base is stolen in Games 1-4 on October 22, 23, 25 or 26) OR Monday, November 3, 2008 (if base is stolen in Games 5-7, October 27, 29or 30) (“Redemption Date”) only. To obtain the Free Taco, consumers must visit any participating Taco Bell® restaurant in one of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (local time) on the Redemption Date only and request a Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco. Free Tacos will not be offered on any other date or time, regardless of circumstance. Limit one (1) Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco per person. Participating Taco Bell restaurant manager reserves the right to deny Free Taco to any person he/she reasonably believes has already received a Free Taco or has engaged in any other fraudulent activity. All eligible consumers: Everyone in line at a participating Taco Bell restaurant before 6:00 p.m. local time will receive a Free Taco, even if it is provided after 6:00 p.m. Free Taco offer is subject to store availability and Taco Bell reserves the right to substitute an item of equal or greater value if due to unavailability. All restaurant managers’ decisions are final regarding to Free Taco offer. As a condition of the offer, eachconsumer agrees: (a) to release, and hold harmless Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., Major League Baseball Enterprises, Inc., MLB Advanced Media, L.P., MLB Media Holdings, Inc., MLB Media Holdings, L.P., MLB Online Services, Inc., the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, and the Major League Baseball Clubs, and each of their respective shareholders, employees, parents, directors, officers, affiliates, subsidiaries, representatives, agents, successors, and assigns (hereinafter, “MLB Entities”), Sponsor and each of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, retailers, sales representatives, distributors and franchisees, and each of their officers, directors, employees and agents (“Promotional Parties”), from any and all claims, demands, losses, promises, causes of action, injuries, damages and/or liabilities, that may arise, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the participation in this Promotion or from the receipt or use or misuse of the Free Taco, or any travel or activity related to the receipt or use of the Free Taco (b) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and participant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, special, consequential, or any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses; (c) all causes of action arising out of or connected with this Promotion or any Free Taco or any advertising, marketing, promotion or publicity materials in connection therewith, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; and (d) any and all claims, judgments, and award shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, excluding attorneys’ fees and court costs. By participating, each consumer agrees that all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms and Conditions, consumer’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor in connection with this Promotion, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of State of California, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rule

After reading all of that I was hungry for a Triple steak burrito too.

Handheld Camera Guy Rocks

By now, you’ve probably noticed those mobile close-up shots during the TBS telecasts when a player trots toward the plate after a home run. It’s the handiwork of veteran cameraman Matt Cunningham, 44, of Kansas. Cunningham lugs a 35-pound camera in his right arm as he follows alongside players, a gimmick approved by Major League Baseball three years ago. He makes many of the decisions on who to follow, and when, on the spur of the moment.

“It’s hard and takes a lot work,” said Cunningham. “I look down at the viewfinder occasionally, but I’ve got to be aware of not running into players and umpires. I can’t step into the field of play, all kinds of stuff.”

Cunningham has become a master of running with the camera over the past three seasons, always keeping track of who’s at bat or on base. “When (B.J.) Upton and (Evan) Longoria are up, I don’t want to be out in the crowd,” he said. In Game 6, he was getting a shot in the Red Sox bullpen when Jason Bartlett homered and he had to dash a good 40 yards in order to follow the shortstop to the plate. Players occasionally get annoyed with him. “Some have an attitude,” he said, “but most are pretty good about it. It’s a moment of glory for them anyway.”

Bad 1990’s Flashback

I was sitting there at the game and got a really bad 1990’s flashback when the Public Address Announcer told us that the Back Street Boys were going to do the National Anthem. Now I was never a huge fan of their music, but I did dance to it if a woman I was trying to date was shaking herself on the dance floor.

They got out there, and thank goodness they looked older. You know how sometimes you see a band 20 years later and they still try and do the tight leather pants and red bandana (Wonder what Band that was at the Trop?), but are about 40 pounds heavier and more winded after one song.

Anyways, they started out with a really unique redition of the National Anthem, with a few a capella moments and harmonies thrown in for good measures. I actually thought it was a great rendiation, but please do not tell me at tomorrow game that I can download the recording on Itunes.com, or that it is availiable for sale in the Rays store.

What City Do We Play In Again?

Just because this area was called Hillsboro Point before the city of St. Peterburg was incorporated by John Williams many. many years ago should we even be considered a Tampa location. I am getting sick and tired of seeing my hometown blown away by the “Tampa” label. Rox Basbeall Announcer, Tim McCarver twiced called the area the”Tampa Rays.”

And someone who used to manage the Clearwater Threshers called this area and the team the “Tampa Rays” when he was announcing the Philadelphia Phillies lineup for the night. It got so bad at one point that another Fox Announcer, Joe Buck, put the Phillies Class-A , Florida State League team on Clearwater Beach instead of their current site right off US 19 and Drew Street in Clearwater.

I know mistakes happen, but can we at leats admit we made a mistake so we know you see the error in your ways. This area is a proud area and we do take offense to the multiple errors in geography and miscalculations on the distance between us and the Tampa skyline. I saw two backgrounds of the skyline off the Hillsborough River tonight, when we were about 20 miles to the west of that location.

At least get a picture of the St. Petersburg Pier, or the sailing academy on Demens’ Landing sending those little crafts out into Tampa Bay. The worst part is the assumption of people who live either south, north or east of us to think that this area is not a metropolitan zone. Did you know that over 921,482 people living in Pinellas county. That makes it the 3rd largest county in the state of Florida. We are also the most densely populated county in Florida. Can’t we at least get the National media to know we have out own identity in this stadium.

Corporate Slinging Here and There:

1B Carlos Pena wiping his brow with a Gator­ade towel. Rays’ Manager Joe Maddon drinking from a Gator­ade cup. Players digging into Gatorade coolers for bubble gum and sunflower seeds on the back of the dugout benches. Huge orange coolers’ sitting on the Bullpen benches in plain sight of the camera as it pans the crowd or follows the ball down the foul line on the ground

Talk about getting your brand out.

If you look in the dugouts and on the postgame interview podiums, the Gator­ade logo will be the only brand seen in the major-league playoffs. Gatorade — created by a group of UF medical researchers — maintains exclusive rights to the MLB postseason.

In both dugouts, the labels of water bottles have been ripped off, and Gatorade cups — sometimes they are empty — are strategically placed in the postgame interview room.

Interesting enough, the unidentified water bottles are from Aquafina, the official MLB water that is also owned by Gatorade’s parent company, PepsiCo.

I know having been a Pepsi Sales Representative. for the Tampa Bay Rays for over 5 years that the presence of a certain energy drink has gotten more exposure than they deserve because of Pepsi Bottling Group’s lack of enforcement to rid the stadium of the rival beverage.

The local saleman of this rival brand bring caes upon cases into the Rays clubhouse for distribution, and none of the Pepsi branded energy drinks are provided for the players or the fans in the Trop. I could see if the local vendor did not offer an energy alternative that they would allow it to be distributed in the stadium. Pepsi Bottling Group has over 6 different versions and sizes of energy drinks that can be sold at concession stands, or even the imported beer stands in the stadium.

You see players on the bench and coming from the Bullpen bathroom areas with small silver and mlight blue cans sticking out of their pockets and pouring them into cans on the bench area. I know that you can also purchase this beverage in the Budweiser Brewhouse at anytime during the game, or after it and can mix it with Vodka to become a drink called, “The Cowbell.”

I just find it a bit moronic that you can purchase a drink that can give you wings in a place where the top soda provider does not have at least a sampling of their wares to entice or at leats give an alternative to this one drink. It might be more job pride than anything here, because I know we can sell alot of this type of drink during the Rays games. Maybe I should just go back and sit in the Budweiser Brewhouse and drink another Coors Light and think about all of this for a while.

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